Another Bad Cop?

A King County sheriff's deputy Paul Schene, 31, has been charged with fourth-degree assault in connection with a Nov. 29 incident in a holding cell at SeaTac City Hall. He had been accused of shoving and kicking a 15-year-old girl in a holding cell after her arrest. Schene pleaded not guilty to the charge and was released on his own recognizance. The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail.

If the above incident was not captured on video, this may have turned out to be another "He said, she said" back and forth argument involving a suspect and the police. However, the video which was released under court order, shows just how brutally this 15-year-old girl was manhandled by an eight-year veteran of the King County Sherriff's Department.

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The entire incident began earlier when deputy Paul Schene and his partner stopped the car in which two 15-year-old girls were traveling. The car had been reported stolen. The two girls were arrested and taken to the holding facility at SeaTac City Hall for fingerprinting and other processing.

One of the teens was taken by Schene and his partner to a holding cell where she was told to remove her shoes. Complying with the order, the girl kicked off her left shoe which struck deputy Paul Schene. That was when the trouble began. What happened next was caught on video.

The deputy is seen rushing into the cell, kneeing the teen in her thigh and pushing her head-first into the opposite wall. He then grabs her by her hair and throws her to the ground and punches her twice before handcuffing her. As if that was not enough, he then grabs her by her hair again and pulls her up from the floor.

See the unedited video below:

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Both girls were booked into the Youth Center on auto theft charges. One of the girls (presumably, the one in the video) was also booked for assault for allegedly assaulting the deputy.

On Dec. 1, the detective assigned to the auto theft and assault case checked the security video as part of her follow-up investigation. She saw the holding cell video and immediately notified her supervisor. This prompted an investigation and Paul Schene, an 8-year veteran of the force, was placed on paid administrative leave the following day.

Sgt. John Urquhart said the surveillance video shows Schene "using more force that was necessary as far as the prosecutor's office is concerned. And as far as we're concerned, that rises up to the level of an assault."

During court proceedings, Paul Schene's attorney, Anne Bremmer, pleaded with Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer not to release the video to the public, fearing adverse public opinion would make it difficult for her client to receive a fair trial. Opposing the motion on behalf of the King County Sheriff's Office, Senior Deputy Prosecutor John Cobb argued that the state public records act requires the video be released. Judge Catherine Shaffer ruled that the video should be released.

"We had argued strenuously that the video tape released to the media this morning not be released because it does not tell the whole story of the incident. As we argued to the judge, it will inflame public opinion and will severely impact the deputy's right to a fair trial. We will defend this misdemeanor case in court. No story can be sliced so thin that it does not have two sides. We hope that judgment will be reserved until all the facts of this case are given fair consideration in court."

"No story can be sliced so thin that it does not have two sides. We hope that judgment will be reserved until all the facts of this case are given fair consideration in court," said Bremner.

During the investigation, the teen told detectives she had not meant to hit the deputy with her shoe, and said she never resisted arrest. She also said the incident left a bruise on her right hip, as well as scratches on her arm and neck. In fact moments after the attack, the girl complained about not being able to breathe properly. Medics were called and examined her but decided that she did not need hospitalization.

Now that the criminal investigation is complete, the sheriff's Internal Investigations Unit will launch its own probe. The result will determine discipline, which could include termination.

No Kidney for Doctor

In a ruling that reasserts some logic to a case that seemed to have strayed into the realm of the ridiculous, Suffolk County Special Referee Jeffrey Grob rejected doctor Dr. Richard J. Batista's request that his estranged wife, Dawnell C. Batista, either return the kidney (or $1.5 million for the kidney) he donated to her while they were still married. The doctor was trying to include the value of the kidney as part of the marital assets to be considered in the divorce proceedings.

"At its core, the defendant's claim inappropriately equates human organs with commodities," Suffolk County Special Referee Jeffrey Grob declared in a 10-page ruling. "While the term 'marital property' is elastic and expansive ... its reach, in this court's view, does not stretch into the ethers and embrace ... human tissues or organs," Grob wrote.

The Special Referee also cautioned that Dr. Batista could leave himself open to criminal prosecution for attempting to put monetary value on a human organ. Citing Public Health Law §4307, which makes it a crime for "any person to knowingly acquire ... for valuable consideration any human organ for use in human transplantation."

The four-year-old divorce case between vascular surgeon Richard J. Batista Jr. and his wife, Dawnell C. Batista, gained worldwide notoriety in January when Dr. Batista and his attorney, Garden City, N.Y.'s Dominick Barbara, held a press conference announcing their intentions to seek compensation for the organ. Barbara petitioned the court for a stay to produce an expert who could testify as to the value of the organ. Click here for more details on this case.

However in the ruling Referee Jeffrey Grob wrote in Batista v. Batista, Jr., 201931/05 that the doctor's sacrifice could be taken into account:

"That the defendant may not proffer the economic proof he seeks to adduce, however, does not suggest that the sacrifices, magnanimity and devotion, which arguably and logically attend, are beyond the pale or lack relevancy."

Dr. Richard Batista's lawyer, Dominick Barbara, called the ruling a "complete victory" for his client, as such proof would be taken into account in deciding the remaining issues at trial, he said.

The decision was "not a surprise to any right-thinking person," said Douglas R. Rothkopf, Dawnell Batista's attorney, in an interview, lauding the ruling as "an excellent one." Rothkopf declined to comment further, only saying that the "facts will speak for themselves" at the upcoming divorce trial, also in front of Jeffrey Grob. The issues will be limited to division of the marital assets, maintenance and child support.

Alfie - A Father at 13-Years-Old?

13-Year-Old Alfie Patten of Eastbourne, East Sussex is father to a 7lb 3oz baby girl named Maisie Roxanne. The mother, 15-Year-Old Chantelle Steadman, says: "There has been no one else" in response to claims by a least two other boys who say the baby could be theirs.

14-Year-Old Tyler Barker who claims that he is the father said: “It was routine for boys to stay over with Chantelle in her bed. But I only slept with her the once.”

16-Year-Old Richard Goodsell, a trainee chef says he and Chantelle have had sex at least three times and insists he is the father: “My friends tell me the baby has my eyes — even my mum thinks so.”

Chantelle's mom, Penny, 38, says that reports of her daughter sleeping around are horrible: “I have never seen her so upset. To know that people are saying things like that about her is destroying her.”

Alfie, who was 12-years-old when Chantelle conceived, insists that he is the father even though there have been as many as six boys claiming to be the father. Social Services had previously refused to pay for a DNA test but have since changed their position. According to Penny, Chantelle's mom: “Social services agreed to do it for the sake of the children. The sooner it’s done the sooner Chantelle and Alfie can get on with being parents.”

The controversy has caused the temporary separation of Chantelle and Alfie. Penny insisted that until the DNA results came through she and 15-year-old Chantelle would remain with Maisie at the hideaway where they have fled to escape the cruel gossip. She said: “We don’t want to go back until Chantelle feels she can take the baby out in its pram without people shouting things at her.”

Interviews with both Chantelle and Alfie recorded by the Sun:

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Drug Dealer's Nasty Home Raided

Sergio Manuel Salizar, 24, is in trouble with the Meridian police. Charges of manufacturing marijuana, possession with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia and animal cruelty are pending against Salizar, whose address is in the 1100 block of Crestwood Drive, Meridian, ID. What is of more interest, however, is the condition of the house that Salizar apparently owned and lived in by himself.

It would be no stretch at all to call Salizar's home a disaster zone. The house, which was in default, was going through the foreclosure process. A man who was hired by the mortgage company, paid a visit to the property. He entered the house and discovered several marijuana plants and noticed a smell of deceased, decaying animals. After finding several dead cats in a bathroom, the man called police.

Meridian police joined by the Ada Metro Narcotics Unit responded by obtaining a search warrant and raiding Salizar's house. When detectives entered the house, they found deplorable conditions. Although it was not The Nastiest Apartment ever discovered, it was pretty bad. Police had to don protective clothing and equipment before entering the house. Here is what they found:

Several kittens had been locked in a bathroom and died of apparent dehydration. A dead Beagle was found decaying inside a pet carrier in the living room. Feces, inches deep, covered the floor in several rooms........ Detectives also found and seized 70 marijuana plants, approximately ¼ pound of processed marijuana packaged for sale and several items used in the manufacturing operation.

Sergio Manuel Salizar was not at home at the time of the raid and has not been seen since. Detectives have been unable to locate Salizar and are asking the community to help. Anyone who has seen Salizar or who has information about his whereabouts is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 343-COPS or www.boiseareacrimestoppers.org or non-emergency dispatch at 377-6790.

Are Newspapers Going out of Business?

Imaginary Conversation set in the year 2015:

Son: Dad what's a newspaper?

Father: Well son, not so long ago people used to buy sheets of paper that were sold daily. Printed on these sheets were reports of recent events that were going on in the neighborhood, the nation and the world.

Son: You mean people had to pay money for a piece of paper so that they could find out what was going on?

Father: Yes, son.

Son: Then what happen to the newspaper when they were finished reading it?

Father: It was thrown away, and you could buy another one the next day. That's how many people found out what was going on.

Son: Dad, paper was made from trees, right?

Father: Yes, son.

Son: So you are saying people would cut down trees, make paper and put words on it so that people could find out what was going on and then throw it away?

Father: Yes, son

Son: Dad, people back then must have been stupid. They went to all that trouble when all they had to do was turn on their computer. That just doesn't make sense to me; I mean to kill all those trees.

Father: Well, you see son.....

Son: Dad did YOU ever buy a newspaper?

The above conversation may not be as far fetched as it sounds. Today the nation's newspapers are in serious trouble. Many of the best known publications are struggling and some have sought bankruptcy protection:

The Journal Register Co., publisher of the New Haven (Conn.) Register and other newspapers, filed for Chapter 11 protection Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009 joining at least two other publishers that turned to bankruptcy court in recent months amid slumping advertising revenue and circulation.

The publisher has been struggling for months with sagging circulation and advertising revenues and a massive debt, which pushed its credit rating into junk status. The company's stock, which traded as high as $23.875 a decade ago, was removed from the listings of the New York Stock Exchange in April 2008 and traded for less than one cent on Friday Feb. 20th.

The publisher reported $596 million in assets as of Nov. 30 and $692 million in debt, including unpaid interest. Revenue has fallen more than 20 percent since 2006, the company said in the court filing. The Journal Register owns 20 daily and 159 non-daily newspapers, serving greater Philadelphia, Michigan, Connecticut, the greater Cleveland area and parts of New York state. It has about 3,500 employees.

"We intend to emerge from the Chapter 11 process stronger, leaner and more financially viable in the current environment. ... Our business will continue its normal operations and we will publish content as usual throughout this process," Chairman and Chief Executive James W. Hall said in the statement.

To many that may just be wishful thinking. The Journal is not the only publisher to fall on hard times. Newspapers around the country have struggled to pay rising costs for newsprint and personnel as competition from the Internet lured away ad dollars and subscribers. Woes in the housing and auto industries and in the job market also have curbed ad sales.

The Chicago-based Tribune Co., which owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Sun of Baltimore, The Hartford Courant and other dailies, as well as 23 TV stations, sought bankruptcy protection in December. The Star Tribune of Minneapolis followed suit in January.

On Thursday, Feb. 19th the New York Times suspended dividend payments to shareholders in an effort to preserve cash. Just three months prior the Times cut the quarterly payment to 6 cents per share, from 23 cents. Suspension of the dividend payments is estimated to save the company $133 million annually.

"In light of the economic climate and the challenges facing the media industry, the trustees believe that the board's suspension of the dividend is in the best interests of all shareholders," the trustees of the Ochs-Sulzberger Family Trust said in a statement.

Shares in the company fell 20 cents Thursday to close at $3.51. The stock has plunged by more than 80 percent during the past year. Due mainly to a decline in advertising sales, the Times has been struggling to raise cash to pay its debts. Advertising revenue fell by $268 million compared to 2007. To compensate for this loss the Times has raised prices and cut jobs. The company has $350 million in loans coming due over the next two years. Total debt stood at $1.1 billion at the end of 2008.

The New York Times Co. is trying to raise another $225 million by selling and leasing back its new, 52-story headquarters in midtown Manhattan and scrape up more money by selling its 17.8 percent stake in the group that owns the Boston Red Sox. that could bring in another $140 million to $160 million. According to industry analyst Ken Doctor of Outsell Inc:

"It looks like the recession is deepening, so it looks like they concluded they have to batten down the hatches and save every nickel they can."

The Times has already taken money from the Mexican billionaire tycoon Carlos Slim to the tune of $250 million at a 14% interest rate with options to increase his share in the company from 6.9% to 17%. Times President Janet L. Robinson said the cash infusion will be used to refinance existing debt and will provide the company with increased financial flexibility.

“The New York Times needs money in the next few months, and Slim has it,” said Shannon K. O’Neil, a Latin American expert at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

All this spells serious trouble at the nation's top newspapers. Whether or not they can weather the storm remains to be seen. However, as advertising dollars are moving more and more towards online businesses, the print business will find itself in increased competition for those dollars. Most newspapers have a web presence but tend not to pursue advertisers online as aggressively as they could. This attitude is changing, as some print publications like the Christian Science Monitor are going online only. In fact many publications may following this example and get out of the print business altogether. In that case maybe 2015 will be here faster than you think.

There is one more question that was burning in the mind of our imaginary "2015 child":

Son: Daddy

Father: Yes, son

Son: Daddy is it true that cars used to run on gasoline?

Maybe, just maybe our world is changing faster than we realize.